The Prince and the Cyborg: A Space Age Fairy Tale (Star-Crossed Tales)

by J. M. Page

  Celine’s heart thumped wildly in her throat and she swallowed. Was she wrong, thinking that he’d be happy?

  “Well, I think it would be nice if it were big enough for the whole family…”

  “You know your father hates leaving the ground. Bora’s not too fond of it either…”

  Celine let her hand drift from the steering to her stomach, settling there in a meaningful way.

  Ben paused, took a moment, then sucked in a breath. “Are you… Are we… You mean… Don’t just let me blabber!”

  Celine laughed, relieved with his excitement. She nodded. “Yes. We’re going to have a new heir to the throne. Are you… happy?”

  Ben was out of his chair, his arms around her, his lips on hers in a matter of moments. “Happy? Darling, I’ve never been more thrilled than I am to have you and now, this little one,” he said, his hand covering hers.

  And they lived happily ever after...

  Bonus Epilogue

  “There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you,” Ben said, sweeping into the workshop with an air of regal confidence.

  Celine looked over her shoulder at her husband and smiled fondly. “Here I am,” she said, looking down at the workbench in front of her, her eyes glossing over, unable to focus on the task at hand. Her gaze drifted up, to the vast window before her.

  Ben wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled his chin in the crook between her neck and shoulder, kissing her playfully. “What are you doing? Anything important?”

  Celine shook her head, her hand falling to her swollen belly. “I’ve been staring at this hydraulic system for hours,” she said, almost ashamed to admit it.

  Ben’s face fell, she could feel the frown against her neck and he nibbled there gently. “How come?” His hand went from its position around her waist, drifting lower to cover hers. “You’re not worrying again, are you?”

  Celine nibbled her bottom lip, tears springing to her eyes though she tried her best to push them back before she turned to face him. Ben locked his fingers together behind her, Celine’s big belly acting as a buffer between them.

  “Why shouldn’t I?” she whispered.

  Ben bent down to kiss her, a gentle smile curving his lips. “Because our baby is going to be perfect.”

  “What if it’s not? What if it’s born like me? Missing… something,” she frowned, her heart aching at the very thought.

  Ben shook his head. “We’re going to love her the same no matter what. Whether she has two toes, ten, or a hundred!”

  Celine chuckled, swiping at her hormonal tears with a nod. “I know… A hundred toes might be hard to fit into shoes, though.”

  Ben affected a look of mock offense. “You don’t think I can have the perfect shoes made for my little princess?”

  Celine laughed again and looked down at the baby between them, still growing inside her. “You really shouldn’t say things like that. You’re going to jinx it. We don’t know that it’s going to be a girl. You tried to make my ship a girl, too. What’s up with that?” she teased, stretching over the distance to kiss him again.

  Ben grinned. “I can’t help but imagine a miniature version of you.” He shrugged.

  Celine shook her head. “You do know he’s going to have half of his looks from you?”

  “Poor kid,” Ben joked.

  His expression turned serious and he pulled her tight, filling her with warmth from the inside out. Their love was too strong, too powerful, for any silly thing like that to get in the way. Of course they’d love their child no matter what, but Celine still hoped he — or she — would be born completely normal.

  Her husband held her for a long time, understanding her need for silent comfort while a million thoughts raced through her mind.

  After a long time, he kissed the top of her head. “Everything’s going to be fine, love. And when our little one is ready to meet us, we’ll be waiting with open hearts.”

  Celine smiled with a nod, her hand drifting to her stomach again. There was a twinge of pain, deep inside, a cramping feeling and she grimaced, drawing a worried look from her husband.

  “I think he might be ready now,” she said with a little chuckle.

  In a matter of seconds, the whole palace was worked into a frenzy.

  In the aftermath of the commotion, Celine laid in a big fluffy bed in a specific wing of the palace, holding her newborn son.

  “He’s perfect,” Ben said, awed as he gently stoked the soft down of jet black hair on his son’s tiny head.

  “Just the right amount of everything,” Celine said, exhaustion and euphoria warring with each other to keep her in a hazy state of wakefulness.

  The baby cooed and curled his tiny fist against Celine’s chest, nuzzling in against her heartbeat.

  “You’re amazing,” Ben whispered, kissing them both.

  “Is he here? Am I too late? Where is he?” Celine’s father barged in the room and she and Ben both turned to him with a sharp ‘shh’.

  “He’s sleeping, Dad. He’s had a rough day coming into the world and all.”

  Abatu was only the first in the procession of people clamoring to meet the new Prince. Ben’s father was away on a diplomatic meeting, but that didn’t stop the rest of their motley bunch from crowding in.

  Bora managed to barrel her way through the bewildered nurses still lingering with a squealing Rufus attached. Bora didn’t really know what all the excitement was about, but she knew something was going on and wanted to be a part of it.

  As the dog rounded the side of the bed to sniff the baby’s ear, Rufus jumped off her back and rolled his way up the mattress.

  “He’s very small,” Rufus said, skeptical.

  “He’ll grow pretty fast,” Celine said.

  “Faster than you’d believe,” her father added, a wistful sob cracking his voice.

  “Shoo, shoo, shoo. You’ll see him at the presentation,” a clipped voice said from the hallway.

  Aris bustled in, pulling the door shut behind her. “I think the entire palace staff is out there trying to get a glimpse,” she said with a huff.

  Ben and Celine exchanged a glance, smiling. “Can’t say I blame them,” he said.

  Aris seemed to be trying very hard to not roll her eyes or be otherwise disrespectful to the King. “I understand, Your Majesty, but I doubt very much you want to entertain that many visitors,” she said.

  Celine coughed to cover up her chuckle. “Thank you Aris for being the best gatekeeper a girl could ask for.”

  Aris’s elfish face turned pink and she gave a curt nod. “It’s my job, Your Highness.”

  Celine rolled her eyes, “I’ve told you—”

  The door Aris held shut jumped forward and she started, turning to force it closed with all her weight — not that she was more than a slip of a woman. “Heathens, all of them,” she mumbled.

  The door shook again, as if someone on the other side was prepared to break it down.

  Aris pushed against it still, both palms flattened, heaving herself into the effort.

  Ben frowned. “Who is it? I’ll tell them to leave.”

  Aris sighed, looking defeated. Celine knew her well enough to know that Ben’s decree made her feel like she’d failed at her duties.

  She stepped away from the door, reached for the handle and pulled it open a fraction. The moment she did, the door flew open on its hinges, nearly knocking poor Aris to the ground.

  “Of all the…” she grumbled.

  “Can’t keep me from seeing my best friend’s baby!” Alex said, shoving his way in, nearly tripping over Aris.

  “Oh!” he said, surprised to see her it seemed. “I… uh…”

  Aris went wide-eyes and tried to step to one side, then the other to get out of his way. Unfortunately, Alex did the same, sidestepping the same direction as if they were in some kind of dance.

  “Glad you could make it,” Ben said, humor in his tone. “Maybe next time try to find your way without destroying m
y palace and breaking down doors?”

  Alex didn’t answer, still stuck in place in his awkward shuffling dance with Aris.

  Celine saw the other woman’s face flush with heat. She cleared her throat, breaking through their bumbling.

  “Everyone,” she said, taking Ben’s hand in hers, still cradling their son against her chest. “We’d like you to meet Liam.”

  Just like that, all the commotion and fuss died down and everyone turned to marvel over the tiny royal heir, the room filling with love.

  “Hi Liam,” Alex whispered, making his way across the room, his limp all but gone these days. “I’m your Uncle Alex.”

  “So we’re going to do the presentation ceremony and then your part comes. You’ll be the Prince’s Guardian should anything ever happen to us, yadda yadda. Just listen for the question and answer— Hey, are you listening?” Ben asked, prodding Alex in the shoulder with two fingers.

  “Ow, yeah. Yadda yadda, got it,” Alex said, one eye roving over the tizzy of activity down below.

  Ben punched him in the arm. “Hey, this is serious. Age old traditions and all that. If you mess this up, Liam won’t have a Guardian. Pay attention.”

  Alex grimaced. “Your son has more Guardians than any other Terran. I think he’ll be okay if I mess up the ceremony.”

  Ben hoped his expression was as hard and unforgiving as he wanted it to be. Alex had been acting weird lately. Distracted and unreliable. He worried about his friend, but he had enough going on without those concerns.

  Alex saw the King’s ‘I’m very serious’ frown and held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. This is important to you guys, I get it. Just go over my lines one more time?”

  Ben heaved a sigh and thrust the script over to his best friend. “Just study it, will you? I need to make sure Celine isn’t losing her mind.”

  “Is everything okay?” Alex asked, seeming to finally process the words Ben spoke.

  Ben nodded. “It just her father. He means well, but he keeps offering mods to Liam and…”

  Alex chuckled. “Say no more. Go save your Queen.” Already his gaze drifted away from the balcony where they’d hold the ceremony, down to the square below where decorations and festivities were being erected.

  “If I can’t give him rocket feet, how about rocket shoes,” her father said, wiggling one of Liam’s teensy toes with his massive fingers.

  “Dad, he’s a baby. Babies can’t even walk!”

  “Not without rocket feet, they can’t,” Abatu said with a bitter edge.

  Celine groaned, dropping her forehead to her hands.

  “I thought you understood how important our mods are. After… well, you know,” Dad said.

  Celine fought the urge to yell at him. Today is about Liam. Take a deep breath. This is not about you. It is for your son.

  “When he’s old enough to make that decision for himself, he can. I’m not going to choose for him, Dad. Especially when he doesn’t need anything. He’s perfectly human the way he is.”

  Right on cue, Ben stuck his head through the doorway. “All set? The ceremony starts in fifteen.”

  Celine couldn’t remember the last time she was so happy to see her husband. “Yep,” she said, stealing her son from her father. “I just need a little help getting him into his Presentation outfit. Aris is busy with a billion other things.”

  She turned to look over her shoulder as they walked out of the room. “See you soon Dad.”

  “Are you okay?” Ben asked, once they were down the hallway out of earshot.

  She nodded. “I’ll be glad when all of these royal things are over. Though I’m sure my father is never going to stop trying to make our son a modder,” she said ruefully.

  “He’s lucky he has a momma that sticks to her convictions then, isn’t he?”

  Celine felt her heart flutter. Ben always knew just what to say.

  “We both are,” he said, his voice hardly more than a husky whisper.

  They turned the corner to the room set aside for them to get ready in. It was blissfully empty and so quiet.

  Celine kissed her husband, thankful for the brief moment alone. “How long do you think it would take for them to find us if we just hid in here?”

  Ben chuckled. “Knowing Aris? She already knows we’re here. Come on, let’s get some fancy clothes on our poor baby boy.”

  Standing on the balcony overlooking the streets packed full of people, Celine felt a familiar snake of unease twist down her esophagus. They were all there to see Liam, her son, the next heir to the Terran throne.

  It was surreal.

  Still, it was a jubilant occasion. Festive decorations, cheering in the crowds, memorabilia, music, dancing and excitement abounding. Liam was hardly a month old and already the citizens adored him. They loved pictures of the Prince, they liked to dress their baby in the same clothes the Prince wore, they wanted to hear if he was babbling or teething or even breathing funny, even though he was just a normal baby.

  It was strange. But heart-warming, Celine decided. Liam was going to grow up being beloved by his entire kingdom. She couldn’t ask for much more as a mother.

  She was thankful that her job in the ceremony was just standing there holding Liam. Ben and his father did most of the talking. They spoke about Terran history and heritage. About their long line of royal succession and their hopes for the future.

  Then it was time for the Guardian ceremony, the part of the afternoon that acknowledged Alex’s role in the baby’s life as a secondary father figure. Guardians were a new concept to Celine, but the way Ben explained it, a Guardian was like another parent — they were there if the child’s parents couldn’t be for whatever reason, but they also played a huge role in molding and guiding the child while growing up. Celine couldn’t imagine a better influence on Liam than Alex. He mitigated Ben’s reckless nature and would hopefully be able to talk little Liam out of the kinds of crazy schemes that led to his parents meeting.

  “Do you promise to uphold these values and celebrate the life of this child as if he were your own?” Ben said, reciting the old text.

  Alex stood there, his eyes roving over the crowd. He seemed to be looking for something — or someone.

  After a beat of silence, Ben cleared his throat.

  “Say you promise,” he hissed under his breath.

  Alex was still distracted in his search, so Celine nudged him with her foot.

  “Hm?” Alex looked over to Ben, his expression dark with annoyance. “Yes! I promise,” Alex said.

  Celine followed his line of sight, searching the crowd for his distraction, but everyone erupted into cheers all at once and she couldn’t see anything.

  “Thank you for coming. Thank you. Yes, thank you for coming. We’re so glad you could make it,” Celine said over and over again to the long string of diplomats, government officials, and palace staff. No one wanted to miss Liam’s very first birthday party and the guest list had grown to unmanageable proportions. But it was almost over. They only had to get through the cake and then she could excuse herself to wash off her sticky baby and wait it out long enough for everyone to leave.

  She had a plan in place.

  Now if only it were that easy to execute.

  Liam babbled and blew spit bubbles from his high chair and Celine scanned the vast crowd, looking for the tiny head of Aris who’d gone off to fetch the cake.

  “Liam would love to attend Emmalyne’s Presentation,” Celine assured a foreign dignitary who didn’t seem to get the hint that she wasn’t at all interested in the conversation.

  Still, she was the Queen and it was her duty to be polite and gracious, even when she was exhausted. Ben promised after the first year there would be less official events and more things they could just do as a family, without the watchful eyes of the Universe.

  She couldn’t wait.

  She shot a look at her husband on the other side of the high chair and sent a pointed glance off toward the bac
k room. “I’m going to go find her,” she said. “You hold the post.”

  Ben nodded, planting a peck on her temple before he let her hand slip from his grasp.

  She crossed the room carefully, avoiding any small talk that would trap her in place longer than a moment. The big dining hall was packed to the brim with people and Celine was certain she’d talked to every. Single. One.

  As she neared the swinging door that led to the kitchen, she heard a familiar male voice beyond. She couldn’t make out words through the muffle of the door, but she knew that voice anywhere: Alex.

  She had the question halfway out before she even pushed the door open. “Hey, have you seen Ari—”

  Finishing the question seemed ridiculous since Aris was in the kitchen with Alex. Not just with him, but with him, their lips locked in a passionate kiss.

  The moment Celine walked in, Aris’s hands dropped from Alex’s chest and she backed away quickly, crimson burning her cheeks.

  Celine just grinned even while they tried to pretend she didn’t just catch them.

  The door swung open again, Ben following Celine in. She gave him a questioning look.

  “Your dad’s watching him,” he answered before noticing how awkward everyone in the kitchen was acting.

  It took the King a moment to connect all the dots, but eventually a sly smile spread his lips and he clapped Alex on the shoulder. “Well I’ll be… Look at you, you lucky dog.”

  Aris’s eyes went wide for a moment, but she brushed off her surprise, clearing her throat primly. She picked up Liam’s little smash cake and exited the room as if nothing had happened at all.

  “You know, when I told my dad to build something for Liam that wasn’t a mod, I didn’t exactly have this in mind…” Celine said, bemused as she watched her young son zoom around wide open halls in his toy hoverspeeder.

  Aris giggled, her arms outstretched pretending to chase him. “He’s just like his parents. He can’t keep his mind out of the sky,” she said, good-natured teasing in her voice.